Mental Health Blog
Working with Self-Harm & Self-Destructive Behaviors
Stacy Ruse (Founder), LPC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, EMDR & DBT Certified on Jan 01, 2019 in Mood and Feelings
Whether you are working with your own self-harming- or self-destructive- behaviors, or with a client’s, it is imperative to validate that the self-harm has a function. Although it may seem contradictory, it is protective in nature. Honoring that the behaviors are protective is an essential step toward healing.
Do you find yourself feeling tired, sluggish, pessimistic about your job? Have you felt “the grind” doing wear and tear on your relationships, mood, and social interaction? Have you lost the motivation and drive you once had when you began? If so, you may be missing a key aspect of work/life balance called self-care.
Let’s get real here…depression does not discriminate. And, for that matter, anxiety, bipolar disorder, suicide, trauma, don’t discriminate either. Individuals from all age groups, gender identities, cultures, religions, races and social-economic backgrounds have depression… and, it is not something that should be a secret.
This is a painful letter to write, but one that I must nonetheless for the world out there is harsh and I would be doing you a disservice to let you walk into it without prepping you in the limited ways I can.